Sunlight in the Blue Room

Anna Ancher was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland (Jutland), Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists and by looking at this painting we clearly can understand why. In this painting, Anna and Michael Ancher’s (who was also a famous painter) daughter, Helga Ancher, sits crocheting. Helga is seated in the blue room at the building called Brøndum’s Hotel (it still exists!). As in many of Anna Ancher’s works, there is no real action, instead it is the play of light in the room and the contrast of the blue and yellow hues in the image that are the themes of the painting. The sunlight almost materializes on the blue wall to the left of Helga, who is deeply immersed in her crocheting. Anna Ancher’s subjects are often so absorbed by their tasks that they are not aware of the presence of the viewer. In the upper-left corner of the painting hangs a picture of the Virgin Mary, who seems to direct her gaze at Helga. 

P.S. Many artists loved to capture the golden hour in their paintings, which is the moment filled with the most radiant light and deep shadows. See some of the most beautiful golden hour paintings.

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